The present invention relates to a handy phone allowing the user of the phone to set a desired function in a setting picture called by referencing a menu picture. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with a handy phone allowing the user to again call a function used in the past with a minimum of operation of buttons arranged on the phone.
It is a common practice with a handy phone to allow the user of the phone to set desired functions via a plurality of setting pictures. Today, the number of items to be selected on the setting pictures is increasing with an increase in the number of functions open to the user, requiring the items to be input in a distributed manner. This increases the number of setting pictures to a considerable extent and makes it difficult for the user to rapidly see a setting picture matching with a desired function.
More specifically, it is extremely difficult for the user to accurately memorize all management numbers attached to a particular function each. Generally, therefore, the user uses management numbers only when calling any one of functions of frequent use. The user uses a menu function when calling a function not memorized. This, however, forces the user to operate a number of buttons arranged on the phone, depending on the desired function.
To call a desired function setting picture, the user may use either one of the following two methods (1) and (2):
(1) Directly calling a management number attached to the desired function; and
(2) Calling the desired function by using a help function or a menu function.
However, as for a function that the user has not memorized, the user cannot call the desired function with the menu function without operating a number of buttons, depending on the desired function, as stated earlier. Moreover, to call the same function again, the operator must operate the above buttons all over again for searching for a desired function setting picture. While the layout of a picture and a display method may be so devised as to promote easy operation, as proposed in the past, there has not been reported an implementation for recording the history of functions used by the user in order to facilitate the call of the same function later.
I studied whether or not the user could be freed from the above troublesome operation for setting functions if a function history listing functions used in the past was stored in a memory. Also, I studied whether or not the user could rapidly reach a necessary function picture without calling pictures not used in the past if only the functions listed in the function history were called in a menu picture.
Further, I studied whether or not, only if the user memorized a method of calling the functions listed in the function history in a menu picture, the user could select a desired function in the menu picture so long as it was a function used in the past. Specifically, assume that the user calls desired one of, e. g., a hundred different functions by inputting a management number attached to the function on a button. Then, because the user does not always accurately remember the above management number, the user must repeat the same operation a hundred times in the worst case. By contrast, with the function history, the user should only select desired one of functions appearing in a menu picture as a function history and has only to repeat the same operation a minimum number of times corresponding to the number of functions listed in the function history.
Technologies relating to the present invention are disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 9-37348, 10-23117, 10-161829, 10-308975 and 10-312261.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a handy phone allowing the user of the phone to call a setting picture showing a function used in the past by a minimum of operation of buttons.
A handy phone of the present invention includes a menu picture displaying device for displaying a plurality of function names representative of a particular function each in the form of a menu. An inputting device inputs information designated by the user of the phone. A function name entering device allows the user to select one of the function names appearing on the menu picture and enter it on the inputting device. A function setting picture calling device calls a function setting picture corresponding to the function name selected and entered by the user. A function history storing device stores in a memory the function names attached to functions used by the user in the past and a function setting picture corresponding to the function names. A function history displaying device displays in the menu picture the function names of the functions stored in the memory as function history data. When the user selects and enters one of the function names of the function history data appearing in the menu picture on the inputting device, a function history setting picture calling device displays a function setting picture corresponding to the function name selected and set.